Saturday, February 20, 2016

What is the telecom industry most in love with this week? Leading up to Mobile World Congress 2016, hot topics include network functions virtualization (NFV), software-defined networking (SND), small cells, and 5G. This week's roundup of trending news is a mixed box of those subjects, exploring near-term prospects for small cells, NFV, and 5G; SDN-related security concerns; and how to separate 5G hype from reality. Plus, a couple of bonus links to whet your appetite for MWC. Let's dig in!

NFV Will Go Commercial in 2016It is time for NFV to move out of the lab, into the real world. How this will be accomplished depends on the network operator doing the deployment. Light Reading article.

Is it time for enterprises to start caring about mobile small cells?Small cell technology, applied to boost cellular networks, is often touted as a solution to the problem of indoor coverage. But what's the most effective commercial model for deploying it? Computer Business Review article.

Identifying the security pitfalls in SDNThe methods used to manage security risks inherent to SDN can mean the difference between successful implementation, or failure. InfoWorld article.

5G: What's hype and what's real?When it comes to 5G, sorting reality from hype is no easy task. FierceWireless article.

Ready or Not, Here Comes MWC5G, IoT and OTT: familiar acronyms expected to be among key themes at MWC2016The sheer breadth of MWC makes it tricky to predict what will emerge as the top 2-3 trends that get the most attention. But, 5G, IoT, and OTT are strong contenders. FierceWireless article. NFV at Mobile World Congress: What to Look ForMWC 2016 should provide some guideposts to how NFV will continue developing during the coming year. Some of the companies and topics to keep an eye on during the event include Cisco (its collaborations with Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom, and its focus on IoT, in particular), the role of mobile VNFs, and Telefonica's use of the HPE OpenNFV platform. SDxCentral article.

In her role as Senior Marketing Writer at Accedian, Mae blogs, manages social media strategy, and produces a variety of collateral focused on thought leadership around telecom industry news and trends. She has more than 15 years of journalism and marketing experience, covering business-to-business technology, including telecom, for a variety of organizations including TMCnet.com and Ziff Davis. Mae holds a B.A. in communications from Thomas Edison State College.